london journals :: september 2006
After my year in Australia, I lived in London for two and a half years, but always with the intention of moving back to Sydney eventually. But I carried on writing my journals in London... mostly because I just liked writing them, and my friends in other parts of the world (and some in the UK) still liked to read them. Here they are! You can keep up to date with what I'm up to now in my new Sydney journals, far out!
Friday, September 15 2006, 14:11
Ten little things I'll miss
Twenty-five days left! I'm already starting to look at things a little differently - with that "is that the last time I'll do xxx?" thought going through my head. Last night was the last time I'll have dinner with Siobhán and Clare before I go. Obviously I'm going to miss people and places and all sorts, but here are ten little things I'll miss about London and the UK:
- dirty little Tube mice scampering under the rails
- vacuum-packed vegetables
- squirrels
- people saying "trousers"
- a million varieties of crisps
- comprehensive bus information at every bus stop
- 2L soft drink bottles that are a sensible shape
- oyster cards
- moist toilet tissue!
- taxi drivers who know where they're going
Monday, September 18 2006, 11:41
Ten little things I'm looking forward to
Following on from the ten little things I'll miss, I thought I should follow up with something positive so you don't all think I'm not looking forward to the big move!
Ten things I'm looking forward to in Sydney:
- less loose change! No 1¢ or 2¢ coins :)
- smoothies that don't cost the earth
- food courts in the CBD
- people saying "root" to mean "shag"
- more fresh meat (not that sort of fresh meat :P )
- kilo pots of low-fat yoghurt!
- possums
- Oporto burgers mmmm
- squeezy sauce packets instead of sachets
- saying "bucks" when I'm talking about money :)
Monday, September 18 2006, 17:44
Wedding bells
Ah weddings... This weekend, I went down to Poole for my friend James' wedding. I'm sure I've mentioned how much I love a good wedding on any number of occasions (here, here, and here to name but a few), so the fact that I was going to one was a nice consolation for me as I woke up at 7.30am. This early start was maybe a trifle overzealous and afforded me enough time to whizz round the flat with a hoover and some Flash floorwipes, and unfortunately throw myself down the stairs in some fit of uncharacteristic clumsiness. Some hours later, I limped into the lovely guesthouse I was staying in and pulled off my sock to reveal a purple toe! Not a good start to the afternoon!
Anyway, enough about my foot. I hopped (literally) into a taxi and made my way over to the church, where I met Mike and Fran, and their adorable little boy, Sam. I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say everything went without a hitch (if you'll excuse the pun); the groom was well turned out, if a little terrified-looking (this cleared up once the speeches were out of the way), the bride elegant and radiant (although this trend away from a classical meringue dress upsets me somewhat), and both mums a little moist around the eyes :) It was all just as it should be, with only one notable exception - the classic post-reception disco. James and Kathryn had opted instead for a trio of jazz performers, a smoothly crooning lady, and two chaps on double bass and piano. A little touch of class to spare us all from some drunken dance moves and the inevitable encores of "Agadoo" and "I'm your man". Bliss.
Tuesday, September 19 2006, 17:30
Strewth... blimey... what next?
I need your help, folks. When I was in Australia for my working holiday visa, my journal was called Strewth. When I came back, I adopted a more Cockney Blimey... so now I need something for the next incarnation. Any ideas? One word responses please
Thursday, September 21 2006, 14:24
More photos!
Just a quick photo update... I finally got round to putting up some more photos this week. The first bunch is from our visit to Eltham Palace the day after I moved into our flat! That's 6th June 2004! Crazy, I know... But I got there in the end. The others are slightly more recent - watching The Sultan's Elephant in May, and going to Shakespeare's Globe in August.
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